The first couple of years of Loudcloud provide a useful illustration of the challenges of rapid international expansion, even in the best-managed companies. The business had taken off like a rocketship from its founding in late 1999—revenue grew from $2M to $55M in a year. While that growth was exciting, it led to a very…
Visit Site »When you recruit an executive, you paint a beautiful picture of her future in your company. You describe in great depth and color how awesome it will be for her to accept your offer and how much better it will be for her than joining that other company. Then one day you realize you must…
Read »Twenty-five years ago, I funded my Stanford MBA by becoming a junkie—a spreadsheet junkie, that is. IBM had just acquired a high-flying Silicon Valley technology company called ROLM, and the IBM execs needed data and analysis to manage and track their progress against their business goals. As a young engineer just entering the business world,…
Visit Site »When we meet with entrepreneurs, the two key characteristics that we look for are brilliance and courage. In my experience as CEO, I found that the most important decisions tested my courage far more than my intelligence. The right decision is often obvious, but the pressure to make the wrong decision can be overwhelming. It…
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